Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Shoe ornamentation in the past has been largely limited to permanently affixed designs. Of the few designs that involve detachable ornamentation, those using snaps or hook and pile fasteners have the potential to be too easily detached by brushing the ornament against another object such as another shoe when the person wearing the shoe crosses his or her legs while sitting. Those designs attaching the ornamentation to the shoestrings are limited to displaying the ornamentation to the front of the shoe upper. None of the prior art listed below offer a removable locking clip and bar mechanism that has the inherent benefits of resisting accidental dislodgment of the shoe ornamentation and the flexibility of being placed virtually anywhere on the shoe upper, depending upon the manufacture of the shoe.
Prior art related to this application includes a novelty shoe with detachable ornamental article by Mathews (U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,501 filed Mar. 18, 1996) where the ornaments snap to the shoe, as opposed to using a locking clip and bar as in my design.
Attilieni (U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,499 filed Aug. 4, 1994) described a light emitting device which was attached to the tongue of the shoe where only an overlying transparent decorative element was detachable.
Solo (U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,821 filed Jun. 21, 1995) depicts a utility article that rests on top of the shoe upper and attaches to the top of the shoe, yet there is no mention of a locking clip mechanism, nor the possibility of the article being able to be attached to the back of the shoe.
Iverson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,790 filed Aug. 6, 1993) has a shoe with individualized display areas, but the indicia is attached to the display area by adhesive.
Wasserman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,362 filed Dec. 30, 1985) describes a removable indicia for footwear employing a hook and pile fastening means recessed into the sole of the shoe.
Not one of these prior inventions uses the combination of a specially shaped bar and detachable locking clip for the placement of removable ornaments on a shoe.
The present invention solves the aforementioned problems of accidental detachability and location of shoe ornamentation by providing a device that allows the ornamentation to be securely fastened to the shoe anywhere a bar is located on the shoe.
The device is a locking clip made of a flexible material that attaches to a uniquely shaped bar, the ends of the bar being suitably fastened to the shoe. The shoe ornament is mounted on the locking clip by adhesives or other suitable means.
The shoe ornament locking clip apparatus is a unique combination of a semi-permanent locking clip that attaches to a bar which has a flat surface on one side and a pair of outwardly sloping surfaces on the opposite side of the bar. The ends of the bar are mounted to the shoe. The shoe ornament is attached to the locking clip which in turn clips to the center of the bar.
The shoe ornament with locking clip provides for a quick, simple way to attach an ornament to a shoe that resists accidental removal of the shoe ornament by bumping or scraping of the shoe during normal day-to-day activities. This is accomplished through the unique combination of components. Unlike some of the prior art, the locking clip can be placed on virtually any part of the shoe upper, the location possibilities limited only by the shoe manufacturer. Secondly, the ornament that is attached to the locking clip can be virtually any shape or size.